Leaders to gather in Cairns to discuss Indigenous Economic Development

Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and its people remain disadvantaged in several ways. But the urge to keep fighting for better life prospects remains strong. People from across the nation will travel to Cairns to join forces.

One of them is Karen Diver; Former Special Adviser to President Barack Obama on Native American Affairs and Former Chairwoman of the Native American tribe Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa.

Ms Diver told how “Indigenous communities world-wide share many commonalities towards achieving self-sufficiency. Exploring best practices and where we can learn from each other is always valuable.”

One of the main issues is around economic development. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities around Australia suffer from poor conditions with not enough financially successful businesses and few employment opportunities for its people.

But economic development is a complex interrelated issue which cannot happen as a programme initiative, said Ms Diver.

“It is best rooted in an environment that is holistic including education, housing, equity and other underlying support systems.”

Ms Diver will be travelling from the US to Cairns to deliver a keynote presentation at the National IndigenousEconomic Development Forum between 28^th – 30th June. Ms Diver will be sharing her knowledge from working towards economic development within Native American communities.

“There is a wide spectrum among the 567 Native American Tribes on their path to economic development. Some Tribes are land rich, but lack access to population centres, and others have more social capital to draw from.  We'll explore more at the conference what these differences mean as far as strength and weaknesses in economic development.”

But mostly, Ms Diver is particularly looking forward to engaging with and celebrating the Aboriginal culture.

If you’re interested in joining Ms Diver as well as other Indigenous leaders from across Australia, visit: https://akolade.com.au/events/4th-national-indigenous-economic-development-forum/

Mimmie grew up in Sweden and first came to Australia as a backpacker after high school. After travelling around the country for two years she returned to Europe and pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism in London. But the longing for Australia and the sun became too strong. After having worked for some time in the media industry, Mimmie decided to make a change and swap the news for conferences. She now gets to do what she loves the most, meeting new people and keep learning about cultures and issues while producing conferences on current topics.